Yamaha audio solutions at the heart of Base:Live

Published on 13 October 2016

Base:Live works on a variety of productions, from glamorous weddings and corporate parties through to live bands of all genres

The day-to-day lifeblood of the professional audio business is the thousands of smaller events and projects which receive much less publicity than major festivals, arena tours and high profile installations. These are serviced by an army of regional production companies like Base:Live, many of whom rely on Yamaha equipment to keep the wheels turning.

Kent-based Base:Live is ideally placed to service events from anywhere in the southern half of the UK, through London, into France and further afield in continental Europe. Company owner Paul Sieloff invested in Yamaha digital mixing consoles back in the early days of the M7CL and LS9, since upgrading to the CL5, QL5 and R-series i/o units.

“We've had other consoles, but we found that the ones that we used by far the most were the Yamahas,” says Paul. “The Dante networking of the newer desks is a godsend. It means we can run them on a network and - as happened at a recent gig - at the last minute we can add a laptop loaded with Nuendo Live onto the network to do a live multitrack recording.”

Great stability

“More than anything I love the stability of them,” he continues. “Alongside the CLs and QLs, our trusty LS9-32 is still in regular use. It's really comforting to know that we can turn up to an event, get everything set up and run it without worrying about glitches. Regular clients know we use Yamaha consoles and they love the security they provide.”

As with most regional production companies, Base:Live works on a variety of productions, from glamorous weddings and corporate parties through to live bands of all genres. The company regularly works with high-end corporate band The Earth Lights, who provided the entertainment at the recent Emerging Markets Benefit Ball, a charity event held at London’s Marriott Grosvenor Square hotel. Here the flexibility of Yamaha audio technology really came into its own.

"We used the CL5 for mixing the band’s in-ear monitors, with the Front of House mix done using StageMix on an iPad, due to a lack of console space out front"

“We used the CL5 for mixing the band’s in-ear monitors, with the Front of House mix done using StageMix on an iPad, due to a lack of console space out front,” says Paul. “In situations like this, it’s great that we can split the desk into two layers. The StageMix app is so comprehensive that it means we can stand discreetly near the dance floor and mix exactly what the guests want to hear.”

Seamless consistency

The following night, The Earth Lights were playing at the nearby Grosvenor House Hotel, alongside acts including Olly Murs and Diversity. Paul was mixing monitors at that show, so he took a show file from the CL5 immediately after the Grosvenor Square performance and loaded it onto a second CL5 that he had specified for the Grosvenor House gig. This meant that he only had to make a few minor tweaks and the band had the comfort of knowing that they would be performing with seamless consistency over the two nights, especially as there was only time for a quick line check at the second show.

“Also having the QL5 means that we can swap files between desks and, if the FoH or monitor footprint is tight, we can cherry pick which goes where,” says Paul. “It’s great having the Rio3224-Ds as well. We would normally use two of them with a split to FoH/monitors but, again, if space is tight, we just use one and activate the gain compensation.”

“If I’m just mixing a show and we are not supplying equipment, I always spec either a CL5 or QL5, no matter where I’m working. It means that I can send a show file off pre-show, so that it’s all loaded and checked when I turn up - and I know it will do the gig with no problems.”